Cannot get updates

[Captain Bart]

I get the following message when I run "check for updates".

The Office Update site is unable to check for updates on this computer. This
may be happening because of one of the following reasons:

You do not have administrative privileges for this computer.
There is a network problem and the detection catalog used by the Office
Update site failed to download. Go back to the Downloads home page and try
running detection again.
Windows Installer patch files (.MSP files) from previously applied Office
updates are missing from the \Windows\Installer hidden directory on your
computer. MSP files are stored on your computer after update installation
completes because they need to be referenced for future update operations. If
the files are missing you will not be able to apply Office updates. You may
also be unable to uninstall Office products as a result of the same problem.
Please contact Microsoft Product Support Services for assistance.
You installed Office updates in the past and then upgraded from Windows
Installer version 1.0 to Windows Installer version 1.1. For more information
see the KB article Windows Installer May Prompt for Install Source if
Unavailable.

I checked the security settings and added the http://office.microsoft.com
and deleted all temp files.

I had not checked for updates for sometime so I tried to uninstall and then
re-install Office Pro. Got the error message: This patch package could not
be opened. Verify that the patch package exists and that you can access it,
or contact the application vendor to verify that this a valid Windows
Instgaller patch package.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, Captain Bart,

The steps in this article may help:

Update process quits unexpectedly after you click "Check for Updates" on the
Office Update Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304498

If not, you can try to use the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility to remove
the Windows Installer entries related to your version of Office, then
re-install Office and try the updates again.

 

[Captain Bart]

Thanks Susan, I will start at the top and work thru until I get it fixed. If
I don't find the problem, I will post again.

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Sounds good. Oh, and I forgot to post the link to the utility:

290301 - Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;290301&Product=offxp

 

[Captain Bart]

Sorry it has taken so long to respond. The Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
did the trick. Thanks again.

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Great! Thanks for posting back.